THE IMPACT OF PARENTAL FACTORS ON THE ACADEMIC SUCCESS OF PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Today, the problem of declining academic attainment among children in pre-primary and elementary school has become a societal issue for educators in Nigeria.

It is impossible to overstate the significance of early intellectual development in an individual's life. A kid's education during his or her school years depends heavily on the type of environment the child is exposed to, the experiences the child has had, and, most importantly, the type of support the child receives from his or her parents (Osanyin 2022).

What a person becomes later in life is primarily determined by the acceptance or welcome, as well as the care and attention the kid receives from his or her parents and the surroundings in which the child grows. This might make or break the academic performance or accomplishments of a student across all levels of schooling.

According to Osanyin (2022), "A child's intellectual or academic progress is based on the child's active involvement in the environment."

Therefore, the youngster requires objects to play with, talk about, gaze at, reach for, and kick. Additionally, the youngster must be introduced to items of various colors, noises, forms, sizes, and materials. There is also a need for an adult to engage the kid in play, conversation, physical contact, suspense, care, and response. It was also said that the quality of intervention and stimulation supplied to the kid has a significant impact on the child's overall development, whether physical, social, academic, etc.

As the kid matures, his parents, siblings, peers, and other people of his immediate surroundings have a significant amount of influence over him. They assist the youngster in forming attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.

Organizations such as the United Nations Organisation (UNO) or its agencies, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and the government exert pressure on parents in Nigeria, as they do in many other nations, to be more concerned and committed to the care and well-being of their children. In 1973, Nigeria's former head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, expressed the nation's concern in his address on the occasion of the celebration of children's day: "Children are a nation's most valuable asset, as the future of any nation depends on how well they have been groomed at various stages of development until adulthood. This is when our obligations as parents, guardians, institutions/schools, guardians, institutions/schools, or the government come into play for the children.

Our greatest responsibility, therefore, is to give the child with all the necessities for his or her peaceful and healthy growth (Okon, 2022).

In any given society, each individual is required to contribute to the growth of children. However, regardless of social expectations, there is a need for a robust and functioning home-based support system as well as parental motivation, as the role of parents in their children's education appears to have been neglected. The family's function with regard to parental engagement in a child's education has long been acknowledged in written works.

For example, Hess & Caff (2022) characterized parents as "first school." Also, youngsters appear to be influenced by parental factors (Olneck & Bills, 2022; Musgroe, 2022).

Several factors contribute to positive or bad academic achievement (Hess & Caft, 2022). These include home factors such as socioeconomic class, parental education, employment, family size, economic position, parental attitude toward schooling, home instability, and emotional disturbance. Other issues include school distance and transition from one school to another, lack of moral education, etc. Regardless of the circumstances or effects, the child is always at the center of the picture, with a parent on each side. This puts us closer to the focus of this study, which is the impact of certain parental characteristics on a child's academic success.

It appears that some parents disregard their children's academic advancement. This issue is greatest throughout the shift from the earliest to the highest educational level. Consequently, parents should be more mindful of the nature of their effect on their children. Dale et al. (2022) concurred, stating that although the school supplies the equipment, the home provides the primary spring. Consequently, behind the failure of a kid is frequently the failure of a family, and behind the success of a child is frequently the support of understanding and loving parents.

Parents are as diverse as the human race. Some are not, others are educationists, and some would vigorously dispute the classification, but virtually all care about children.

It now depends on how parents distribute interest to their children in order to increase intrinsic motivation for successful learning in youngsters.

Spedek (2022) discovered several limits among parents about their contributions to their children's education. He noted that some parents are unaware that they are or should be their children's instructors in addition to the school's efforts.

Some individuals may not comprehend which of their actions facilitate a child's learning and which actions prevent it.

In addition, parents who appear to have an abundance of material belongings may fail to offer their children with chances that would enable them to achieve their objectives. Occasionally, the demands and concerns of some parents take precedence over those of their children, preventing them from giving what may seem so natural.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Being a teacher for a few years and having expertise and direct contact with children has afforded the researcher the opportunity to encounter pupils with varying intellectual capacities. Observations indicate that some youngsters struggle with recognizing items or numbers (figures), reading, writing, and manipulating objects, whereas others can handle toys and other play materials, read, and write exceptionally well (Hess & Caff 2022).

This has prompted the researcher to conduct this study in order to determine the probable causes of these children's academic deficiencies and to propose remedies that would assist those with low academic accomplishment and encourage or inspire those with high academic achievement.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The primary objective of this study is to examine the impact of parental factors on the academic success of pre-primary school pupils. Specifically, other objectives of this study are:

i.          To find out whether parents level of income affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils.

ii.        To find out whether parents education level affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils.

iii.      To find out whether parents societal status affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils.

iv.      To find out whether parents religion affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study will answer the following research questions:

i.          Does parents level of income affect academic performance of pre-primary school pupils?

ii.        Does parents education level affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils?

iii.      Does parents societal status affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils?

iv.      Does parents religion affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

A study of the prior academic performance of pre-primary and primary pupils revealed that some children continue to struggle to achieve above-average academic results.

This study aims to determine the impact of parental influences on their children's academic performance and to propose potential remedies to these problems.

It is intended that the outcomes of this study would assist parents in understanding their involvement in their children's school achievement. In order for them to be able to detect these crucial parts of parental influences that impact the academic achievement of children in school, they must be able to identify them. Therefore, it will be up to parents to establish a favorable home atmosphere within their means.

It will also assist them in identifying and analyzing the extent to which parents impact their children's academic achievement in school.

This research or results will also be useful to instructors, educators, and school counselors in dealing with pupils issues during school hours.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study focuses on the impact of parental factors on the academic success of pre-primary school pupils. Specifically, this study focuses on finding out whether parents level of income affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils, finding out whether parents education level affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils, finding out whether parents societal status affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils and finding out whether parents religion affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils.

Pupils from selected nursery schools in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State will be the respondents for this study.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study is limited to on the impact of parental factors on the academic success of pre-primary school pupils. Specifically, this study is limited to finding out whether parents level of income affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils, finding out whether parents education level affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils, finding out whether parents societal status affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils and finding out whether parents religion affects academic performance of pre-primary school pupils.

Pupils from selected nursery schools in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State will be the respondents for this study, hence further studies is needed before the findings of this study can be used any where else.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Parental factors: Under “parental factors” we include both the parents' and family's well-being (anxiety, depression, parental stress, conjugality, family functioning) and parenting, defined in terms of affection, responsiveness, encouragement, and teaching.

Pre-primary school: A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school. It may be publicly or privately operated, and may be subsidized from public funds.

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